


Conversations Before Falling Asleep

by swiftishere



Series: MSA One-Shots [24]
Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: (very mild and only in some parts but), Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Multi, No Plot/Plotless, Post-Canon, Sharing a Bed, Trans Character(s), Trans characters by a trans author, discussion of deadnames that is totally consensual and purely for the sake of jokes and goofs, im trans and i get to decide how i represent myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27813823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftishere/pseuds/swiftishere
Summary: Sharing a bed can get cramped, occasionally. But that doesn't mean it isn't also really nice, most of the time.A collection of scenes from different nights where three tired ghost hunters crashed (or attempted to crash) in their shared bed, enjoying each other's company for as long as sleep evades them.
Relationships: Arthur/Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: MSA One-Shots [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1440190
Comments: 4
Kudos: 74





	Conversations Before Falling Asleep

Arthur eased himself into bed, doing his best not to disturb the mattress or covers, and buried his face in a pillow, ready to fall asleep.

Almost immediately, a pair of arms wrapped loosely around his back, and a chin came to rest on his head. He sighed.

"Vivi?"

No response except for heavy breathing. She was completely asleep.

"Lewis, help."

He felt the bed sag as Lewis, presumably, pushed himself up to look at them, and then there was a quiet snort. "Oh, how _terrible_. Whatever will you _do_."

"Fucker, she's f-f-freezing."

Another quiet laugh, and then, "Well, I suppose I can help with that." A larger arm draped itself over the two of them.

A few deadbeats took that as a cue to also make themselves comfortable in the bed, curling up over his back and arms. Arthur groaned, but there was no force behind it. "Why do you two _always_ do th-this?"

"We just like to be close to you."

He considered that statement for a moment. "I _guess._ "

* * *

"Mm- Lewis?"

He drifted out of the meditative half-sleep, and lifted his head to shine a dim pink light on Vivi's face. "Hmm?"

"Something's missing."

"...Yeah." He took a moment to look around, noting the lack of any third figure anywhere in the room. "I thought he was coming to bed after he finished up what he was working on."

A quiet snort of laughter. "You know Arthur. He probably _is_ still working. On the same thing, I bet."

Lewis rose slowly from the bed, and drifted silently towards the door.

"You could also just not do anything and let him be tired and whiny tomorrow," Vivi called after him, more of a joke than a suggestion. They both knew Arthur probably wouldn't even notice he was tired tomorrow, and would just be headachey and miserable for no discernible reason until someone else pointed it out for him.

He found him at the kitchen table, as he'd assumed, slumped over in a chair and staring at a stack of papers with a pencil in one hand and his head in the other. He didn't even seem to notice Lewis's presence until he was almost at his side, and then he started with a jump and very nearly tripped out of his chair.

Lewis leaned over and caught him easily, pulling him back upright. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"I know. I- uh, is- is there s-something you want?"

"Yes." He let a little bit of a whine creep into his voice. "You in bed. It's late and both of us want to lie down."

"Th-then go back to bed! I'll be there af- r- right after I finish this up, I t-told you. You can sleep with- without me!" Arthur waved him off, leaning away without much force.

"Yeah, but it's not the _same!_ Just come sleep with us. This can wait until morning." He tugged his shoulder lightly.

Arthur glanced back to the clipboard, dismayed, and then sighed. "You're not gonna leave me alone un- until I do, huh?"

"Nope. I can get Vivi out here if you feel like being stubborn."

That gets a laugh out of him, however weak. "Fine, f-f-fine, I'm coming."

He was barely even surprised anymore when Lewis scooped him up, with a soft demand that he "do it _right now_ instead of spending another half hour _wrapping up._ "

Vivi stirred when they came back into the room, and made a soft _yaaay_ when Arthur was laid down at her side, snuggling up to him immediately. Lewis curled up at his other side, resting his head against his back. He didn't even complain about being pinned.

* * *

"Should I go?" Lewis asked quietly, feeling Vivi wiggle again. "I can go sit in the front seat. I know there's not much room back here, and it doesn't really matter-"

"Nuh-uh," Vivi said, immediately latching onto him to keep him there.

Arthur didn't say anything, but a hand wrapped around his skull and gently but firmly shoved him back into the pillow.

And then he felt the air mattress dip as someone wiggled over to one side of it, and patted the space between them. "You'll j-just have to- uh- c-come over here."

Lewis obliged, and Vivi stayed stubbornly glued to his back.

"You're comfortable there, right?" he asked in a whisper. "Not shoved against the wall or-"

"Nah, 's fine." He shifted a little. "Maybe... we can look f-for a- for a bigger one, in... in the morning."

"Mm, but I like this one!" Vivi sniffed. "I don't want to get a new one and go to all the trouble of getting it in here just to wake up the next morning on the floor."

"Well, it wasn't really bought with- w-with Lewis in mind."

Of course not. The other two had bought it during... well, during the period where he wasn't with them. Since they were spending so much time on the road, because of their... or, because of Arthur's search. But of course, it had only been meant for the two of them, and it probably would've been too hard to explain to Vivi why they needed one big enough for three.

There was a quiet ache growing in his chest, one that wasn't entirely unfamiliar.

"Hey-" a hand pressed against his chest, and then hesitantly slid over his shoulder, as Arthur shifted a little closer to him. "S-sorry if I- I- uh, I think it's fine. It's... good now- f-for now. Right?"

He exhaled shakily, recognizing what he meant. "Yeah- no, it... it's fine. As long as you two are comfortable."

They could talk about it in the morning, but for now... this was nice.

* * *

Lewis laid down in his usual spot, next to Vivi, and immediately felt someone wiggling away from him.

"Nuh-uh," Arthur said, nudging him back with a foot. "You stay- you st-stay over _there._ You are _too warm._ "

"Oh- _rude!"_

Vivi shifted enough to nuzzle against his chest. "Mm- I'll cuddle with ya, Lew," she mumbled.

"It's like ninety fucking degrees outside, I don't- I- I dunno _how_ you can deal with th-the ghost furnace."

"S'not _that_ warm out," she answered, already sounding half asleep again, "'n I'm cold!"

Lewis laughed, forgetting the minor insult he'd felt from Arthur, and folded his arms around here. "Okay, c'mere." And then with a little more of a pointed edge to his voice, "see, this is perfect! I don't know why we'd want anyone else here!"

It wasn't long before the bed shifted again and he felt something nudge his arm. "Okay, move- move over a little, I wanna be closer to- to Vivi."

* * *

Vivi felt Arthur roll over again, and turned her head slightly towards him. "Can't sleep?"

"Mmh," he grumbled, confirming her suspicions.

"Wanna lay here and chat for a while?" Lewis's voice was quiet, gentle with the weight of half-sleep.

"About what?"

"Whatever."

"Uhh... if you owned a boat, what- uh, what would you name it?"

"Yukiboat," Vivi said without hesitation, and the other two snorted.

"Probably something cool and threatening," Lewis said after a moment of thought. "Like... _The Terror of the Seven Seas!_ or something like that. But better."

"Hmm. What about you, Artie?" Vivi nudged him with her foot.

"Oh, uh, I'unno. Boats are like, girls, right? I'd probably j-just give it my deadname."

Lewis huffed a laugh. "Wait, fuck, that's good. Can I change my answer? I wanna do that too."

"Mm, I could see it," Vivi mused, staring at the ceiling. "Graceful, yet ominous."

"Wait, but- Vi- Vivi. If it was- imagine it was, like, a pirate ship. You want people to- to be like- _oh no, it's her! The Yukiboat!"_

"Well- if it's a pirate ship, that changes everything! I thought we were talking about, like, just a regular boat. If it's a _pirate ship,_ all bets are off. I'd probably call it like... _the Ice-Ripper_. Y'know, something thematic."

"Your answer isn't changing?" Lewis asks him.

"Uh... nah, I st- I st-still think it's cool. Like, imagine. All the- all the merchant sh-ships will be like, _oh no, it's Elle!_ and th-the new guys will be like _oh no, who's Elle? What horrible, unspeakable crimes against humanity has sh-she committed?_ and it turns out to be an entire fucking pirate sh-sh-ship? That would kick ass."

"...Yeah, I guess that is pretty cool."

"Plus it'd be the perfect decoy. S-some asshole thinks they have- have dirt on me, all like, _I know your true name, s-serve me or I'll tell everyone!_ and I could j-just be like, 'what the fuck are you on? Elle is my _boat_.' And they look st-stupid."

* * *

"Hey, guys!" Vivi half-whispered, trying to wiggle into bed between them. Lewis patiently waited for her to figure out the problem.

"Oh- come on, no fair!" She tugged at Arthur's shoulder, to no avail. Lewis just snorted. They were already curled up tight together, arms and legs intertwined, and there wasn't enough space for her to squeeze in between them.

She switched tactics and started trying to shake him awake - only to get swatted at with one hand. "Fuck off," Arthur mumbled, head still buried in Lewis's chest.

"Hey, this isn't fair, that's _my_ spot!"

"Mm... tough shit."

"Fine," she said, and Lewis could _hear_ the dramatic pout in her voice. "I guess I'll just have to make do _somehow!"_ She flopped onto the bed at his other side. Lewis felt smaller arms squeezing in between theirs, joining the cuddle tangle.

Arthur laughed quietly, trying to be amused, but both of them could hear the almost-delirious happiness in his voice. It was rare for him to be properly touch-starved, and to _admit it,_ but as they'd both learned quickly, it was _very_ hard for him to be subtle about it when he was.

"We still love you," Lewis decided to say, leaning in slightly and letting go with one hand to put it around her.

"Yeah, yeah, and I love you too."


End file.
